A Different Kind of Dragon
by Dragoness19
Summary: Not all dragons are mindless brutes with only their instincts to drive them. Eventually CreedyXOC.
1. Chapter 1

**I hated the fact that Creedy died in the movie so I'm changing that. I don't own Creedy or anything related to Reign of Fire. Darn it! Some of the dragon related info you'll see in later chapters doesn't belong to me either. It belongs to Bryan Davis, author of the Dragons in Our Midst series. Enjoy and no flaming.**

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Chapter 1

Creedy stood frozen to the spot as the burning flames came rushing towards him. Glancing back he saw the the door slam shut in Quinn's face as he tried in vain to keep it from closing. The castle rocked under the wrath of the angry dragon as he rained fire down the corridor. Creedy wondered how long it would take for him to die under the fire. Would it be quick and painless, or would there be an agonizing pain as he burned to a crisp. The answer came soon enough as the flames licked at the his back and legs almost in slow motion. Pain shot though him as the darkness engulfed his senses.

The dragon shot barrage after barrage of flames all over the castle, not satisfied until it was a living torch. Pure instinct driving its need for revenge. _"Attack. Kill. Hunger. Man." _The dragon smelled a man down corridor. Rage taking over, it shot white hot flame down the passageway. But just as it had begun, the dragon stopped as another creature slammed into it, forcing the bull dragon to extinguish it's flame. Another dragon. Female. He'd punish the female for interfering. But wait, why did this one have to four legs as well as wings? The bull's hesitation gave the smaller female the necessary opportunity to strike. This time with flames and claws. The bull shook off his hesitation after the female gouged his back while shooting flames in his face. Taking to the sky he gave chase. The battle lasted but a few minutes since the bull was wounded first. Flames from female sped after him as he fled the scene, returning to his coven to rest and heal.

The she dragon, however triumphant this time, did not win unscathed. Several wounds marked her back, shoulders and legs, courtesy of the bull's talons and teeth. Nothing too serious in dragon terms but only if she gave them the proper time to heal. The battle had also greatly exhausted her, more than she had anticipated. Preparing to fly back to her cave, she smelled something down one of the corridors. Burnt human. What intrigued her was that it did not smell dead. Folding her wings back in, she silently crept down the hallway, barely fitting through some places. Reaching a stairway, she stuck her neck down around the corner to see what lay at the bottom. More black walls and a steel door stuck shut with all the ash piled in front of it. Where was that smell? Carefully she listened to hear if anybody was on the other side. There were. Many people, a lot of them children. All sleeping though some sounded like they had cried themselves to sleep. A name was faintly whispered. _Creedy._ Who was this Creedy?

Satisfied that they would not hear her, she started nosing around in the ash, trying to find that smell that was beginning to drive her insane with curiosity. She found nothing near the door. Frustrated, she backed up and nosed around the bottom of the stairs, slowly working her way up. Near the first landing she finally found something. Tired of getting her snout dirty, she brushed the ash off the form lying on the stair with her front foreleg. It was a man. She sniffed. He wasn't dead but he was badly burned. Looking around, the female knew the humans had no way of treating his injuries. Making a decision then, she quickly picked up the wounded man and backed out of the burned out passage way. Moving fast now to an open area, she spread her wings and took to the skies.

The sky slowly began to pale as the dragoness landed in front of her cave. The flight had been uneventful, something for which she was thankful. It would not have been pleasant having to fight one of the bull's females on top of fighting him in the same day. The only thing that did bother her was the condition of the human. Inside, she dragged out some blankets and laid them on her bed coins and jewels, forming a pallet big enough for human. Lying him on his stomach, she set to work removing the burned clothing from his legs and back. It was very tedious work and as careful as she was, the poor man whimpered a few times in his sleep. Once that was done, the she dragon applied a salve to the burns to prevent the heat from doing anymore damage. It would take months to heal everything but the dragoness was willing to try. Bringing out another blanket, she covered the unconscious human, spread her wing over him and went into her own regenerative sleep to heal the wounds she has sustained.

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**Review please.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry this is short but I couldn't figure out a way to stretch it out any longer. I don't own Creedy, sadly. -cries-**

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A month had passed since the dragoness heard that the bull dragon was killed. This gave her joy since the humans would no longer have to live in fear and now she also might be able to see if any of her kind survived the other dragon's reign. For now though her search would have to wait. The human male made progress though slowly. The burns had scabbed over but still oozed from time to time, especially when he moved in his sleep. Keeping him hydrated was proving to be a task as well. Most of the time he just slept, rarely waking for more than a few minutes before falling back into unconsciousness. Time spent in the dragon's regeneracy dome kept the pain at bay while the new skin formed.

Time held very little meaning for Creedy as he alternating between darkness and delirium. And his dreams were very confusing to him. One moment he saw burning flames rushing toward him, the next it looked like there was a dragon helping him. Unable to discern what was reality and what was a fabrication of his mind he'd fall back into darkness. In one instance though, as he dreamed of the flames rushing toward him again, the burning sensation faded away as he fell something cool being applied to his back. Moaning he opened his eyes. Aside from light he saw very little.

"Do not move, " a female voice said as it resonated around him. "You are still badly hurt."

He closed his eyes since they refused to focus on anything. "Where am I?"

"Safe."

Was that a purr he heard? "Who are you?"

"A friend." She put the blanket back on him. "Rest now young one. You still have much to heal."

Creedy snorted at being called "young one." The sensation of his scalp being massaged caused him to fall sleep once more.

The she dragon continued to stroke man's dark hair as he slept. Contemplating what she was to do tomorrow she created her regeneracy dome, filling the cavern with light. The humans at that castle were rebuilding. The only thing she worried about them possibly finding her cave. Convincing them that she would do them no harm would be very unlikely. Settling on hoping that they would not find her cave, the dragoness went to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Warmth surrounded Creedy, encompassing him in cocoon of comfort as wakefulness pried into his mind. Not really wanting to leave, he attempted to stay asleep. After trying for fifteen minutes and failing miserably, Creedy growled in acceptance of the fact that he was awake.

Opening his eyes, he was greeted with the appearance of tawny, leather membrane. Swiveling his head, he saw more as it tapered to the ground and ended a foot from him. Turning his head back around, Creedy's eyes followed the membrane lined with what looked like hardened veins and saw a wall of more leathery skin mere inches from his face. Finding an opening, Creedy crawled out from his pallet and sitting up, saw that what had been covering him was a dragon wing. Creedy ran his fingers through his hair in confusion as he stared at the mainstay.

"Be careful not to stand up to fast or you'll get dizzy."

Creedy jumped as the voice reverberated around the cavern. "Be careful, whoever you are."

"Why?"

"There's a dragon here."

"And my reason for concern should be?"

Creedy felt agitation growing, both for the dragon's presence and for for the voice's lackadaisical attitude. "The beast could wake-up at any moment. Where are you and why aren't you running for your life?" The creature's body moved away a little as it's head came around, slitted eyes, sapphire in hue, fixed themselves on Creedy. He swallowed uncomfortably.

"Maybe because I am a dragon."

Creedy, still trying to figure out why he hadn't roasted on the spot, asked while trying not to sound scared stiff, "Why haven't you eaten me?"

A ridge above the dragon's right eye arched. "Unlike the creatures you are used to running from, I don't eat humans. It's rather sickening just to think about it. Now, are you hungry?"

Creedy nodded dumbly, still trying to take all this information in.

"Right, I'll be back in a minute." With surprising grace, the dragoness left through one of passages in the cavern.

Creedy stared at all that was around him, in awe of what he saw. He sat on the edge of a bed that consisted of gold, silver and precious stones that had been polished to a fine sheen. The blankets where he had been sleeping moments before. He then noticed his own clothes. Stonewashed jeans and grey t-shirt. Where had they come from? Creedy began to feel he knew the answer when the scaly creature came back.

"I afraid I don't have anything fancy but I hope you'll like it anyway." The creature sat down in front of Creedy and started to lay out what she had brought back. Roasted strips of meat, cheese, bread, and a jug on water. The dragon sat back and watched as Creedy ate hungrily.

Midway through eating, Creedy realized the creature was staring at him. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"I ate earlier while you were sleeping."

"Oh." It was all he could of to respond at the moment. Then thinking of something else, he asked rather hesitantly, " What happened to my other clothes?"

"They were too burned to be of any use so I removed them and threw them away. I hope those fit you ok."

"Yes, they fit fine." Creedy felt himself go a little red so he concentrated on finishing his meal.

"Would you like somewhere to bathe?"

Creedy quickly finished another swig of water. "Yes, I would."

"That opening behind you leads to a hot spring where you'll find some toiletries."

He looked behind and nodded.

"Be careful when you stand up."

Creedy tried to stand up slowly but it wasn't slow enough. The dragon had to catch him as a wave dizziness hit. Once it had passed he walked through opening, leaving the dragoness alone in the cavern.

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**I apologize for not getting this done sooner. Been super busy starting my full-time job and all. Please review and for those who read my other fic, I promise I will update soon. Thanks for reading. :)  
**

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	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Three months. Three months had passed since they no longer had to fear. To hide. They could live in the open. Be outside and feel the sun. The castle had been repaired. Van Zan and Alex had proved to be invaluable help but Quinn still felt the pang of losing his best friend. Sighing he walked down to the market set up out side the castle. It had been Alex's idea and it had proved to be very good one since people from all over had come out of hiding. Van Zan stood watching over everyone's comings and goings as Quinn walked up.

"Anything happen today?"

Van Zan shifted his feet. "Nope, nothing. Aside from the incident last week, it's been quiet. I guess people aren't wanting to fight each other yet."

Quinn nodded as he looked up at the overcast sky. Glancing back down he saw someone walk away from market. And not back to the castle. "Who's that?"

Van Zan looked to where Quinn had pointed. "Oh her? Some girl who showed up a couple months ago. Comes in every once in a while to pick up basic provisions and then leaves. Evidently she keeps to herself."

"Isn't that a little strange?"

"Well I asked her about it one time and she said that she prefers the quiet. It's not really a big deal since we don't have dragons to worry about anymore. Evidently she's been here a while though. Was with friends on trip when the dragons broke out, was separated from her friends and stranded here. Originally from America."

Quinn nodded as he watched hooded figure disappear behind a hill.

Oh the water felt so good. How long had it been since he had had a bath? A real honest to goodness bath. Too long Creedy thought as he sat in the steaming water. He has already washed his hair and now was just enjoying being the water. Everything the dragon had mentioned was in there. He still was a little dumbfounded at what this dragon was doing. The concept of an intelligent dragon was still a little hard to believe and yet here he was, in the company of one. Realizing that he was going to go pruny if he stayed in water much longer, he climbed out and toweled off. After dressing he walked back into the cavern where he had left the dragon. She was still sitting there, apparently in deep thought until she turned her head in his direction.

"How was your bath?"

"It was good, thank you." After an awkward silence he ventured to speak again. "Why are you doing this?"

"I saw you were hurt after I chased the bull dragon away. Your friends had no way of taking care of you and likely thought you dead. So I brought you here and healed your burns."

Creedy sat down. "You're not like the other dragons."

"No I'm not. And I've been hidden for many years. However the advent of those other dragons made it even more necessary."

"How so?"

"They wouldn't just eat humans, they also would try to kill off my kind as well. So my kind split up and hid everywhere in hopes that we could stay hidden from them. We can defend ourselves against four or five but unfortunately they would attack in packs of twenty. So we hid and I came here."

"Why didn't you kill off the dragon that attacked the castle?"

"The only reason I was able to chase him away was that I surprised him. And I still came away with injuries."

Creedy rubbed his head as a bout of dizziness assaulted him.

The dragon seeing this said, "You need rest more."

"Ok, just a few things." Creedy laid back as the dragoness pulled the blanket over him.

"What are they?"

"Why did you call me "young one?"

"You are in comparison to me."

"How old are you?"

"About three thousand years. What is other thing you wanted to know?"

"Do you have a name?"

"Yes, Aryanna. Now go to sleep."

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**Questions and comments are welcome, and as always, so are reviews. :)  
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	5. Chapter 5

Three weeks since Creedy had regained consciousness, he watched the dragon as she came and went. His wounds, aside from some minor scarring, were completely healed. There was always something that she did that made him marvel. Like the night he discovered that she sang. Hauntingly beautiful and captivating, the sound had filled with the cavern, resonating everywhere. She was a gifted storyteller. The way she related the words and made the twists and turns in the tale boggled his mind to no end. He also discerned that this dragoness was lonely. Years of hiding had been arduous. He wondered how Aryanna had kept on living. Apparently, she found reason too. It had not done anything though in dampening her facetious nature. One night, she had taken him flying, and needless to say, the experience was not unmet with aggravation on his part when she did a roll and dive without warning. The dragon apologized but Creedy couldn't help but detect a grin as she said the words. He would sometime think about Quinn and everyone at the castle and how they were fairing. The dragon had told him that the bull dragon was dead and that people were beginning to rebuild. He wondered if maybe Quinn had survived to see it. He did miss his friend a great deal. However, he also was taken aback by his now current friend as well. Who knew that he would be friends with a dragon of all things. He hoped that one day, she would find the reast of her kind and perhaps that they might not have to hide anymore as well.

"Is it true?" Van Zan nodded his head.

"When?" Quinn was still realing from what he had just heard.

"One of the scouts saw it about five miles from here. It was going inside a cave," Alex said.

Quinn nodded dumbly. So they weren't all dead. Why hadn't this one died along with all the other ones? "What do you recommend doing?"

Van Zan folded his arms. "I recommend we gather together several of our men and guns and leave tomorrow at noon. By the time we get there, it will be twilight and we will have the advantage."

"Sounds good. We'll do that."

"Also another thing. The scout said that this one had forelegs."

"A dragon with with forelegs? A different breed perhaps?"

"Who knows. But one thing is sure. We don't want these critters running rampant again."

Quinn nodded heartily at that. They were just getting back on their feet again after years of terror. There was no way they let it happen again if he had anything to say about it. "Tomorrow then."

Alex nodded in agreement.

Aryanna stood outside the cave enjoying the sunset as the skies became graduations of light to dark. Creedy was inside. He had found her library last week and was making good of it. She had found the look of amazement on his face highly amusing when he learned that she could read and write. Breathing in the cool air, she spread her wings and took flight. It was always so peaceful up here. Especially now that she could enjoy it more freely than before. A sudden warning entered her mind and she flipped sideways. Not a second later, a bullet raced past. She could hear the hum as it's path came all too close for comfort. Looking down, she saw several people armed with shotguns and rifles.

"_Crap! This is going to get interesting."_

A barrage of gunfire assaulted her as Aryanna climbed higher in the sky. Most of them missed but one rifle found it's mark in her shoulder and another in her leg.

"_Darn it! That is going to leave a mark."_

Gritting her teeth, the dragoness suddenly flew low and blew fire just above the shooters heads. They ducked for cover and the dragoness took this opportunity to fly back to her cave.

The sound of gun fire roused Creed from the book he was reading. It sounded close. He was just about ready to call out to Aryanna and ask what it was about when she suddenly flew into the cave and landed heavily.

"_Well speak of the devil and she shall appear." _He thought to himself. He then saw that she was bleeding. Creedy then looked concerned. "What happened?"

She breathed heavily. "Dragon hunters. Dunno how they found me but they did."

Shouts outside the cave and coming closer validated her statement. Before Creedy could respond, the hunters had entered and found them. He jumped in front of Aryanna while she backed up onto her bed of jewels.

"Stop! She's not going to hurt you!"


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